Rifkind could be deselected

24 May 2006

A pitiless Kensington and Chelsea Conservative plot

Salisbury has another much broader interest in the outcome. The forthcoming redistribution brigades the boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea together with Hammersmith and Fulham. This may also prefigure the brigading together of three associations in question — Kensington, Chelsea and Fulham — and the new Hammersmith. Hammersmith is a highly marginal seat, which on the basis of the local council results now has a notional Tory majority of just over 1,000. To maintain this momentum, they need to select a candidate as soon as possible. That logically means a swift selection for the other seats concerned, too.

Starting in his native Hertfordshire, Salisbury has been an important pioneer of a federative process whereby large, rich associations are brought together to provide full-time support for their weaker brethren in neighbouring marginals. The logic in this case is that instead of Tory campaigns in Kensington piling up huge majorities, the vast bulk of the collective effort would be redirected to Hammersmith. There would still be separate associations; but senior figures in the national party, taking a logical look at where resources are needed, suspect that the vast K&C headquarters at 1a Chelsea Manor Street and its agent should probably be moved to Hammersmith.

The fight for the nominations is thus about much more than just personalities: it is about what safe Conservative associations and their MPs are for. Are they centres of social life, with endless ward parties, working mostly for easy re-election victories within their own patch? Are they platforms for ‘big beasts’ to pronounce on the great issues of the day? Or should they, above all, be campaigning tools — to be deployed on a chessboard according to the wider interests of the party? The well-heeled (and not-so-well-heeled) Conservatives of west London will soon give their answer.